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Annual Review

Annual review 2015

The annual Europol Review details the progress that the organisation and its partners make in fighting crime.

Each year the Europol Review gives a comprehensive overview of the previous year, in terms of:

key trends in each major crime area, including terrorism;

“behind-the-scenes” analyses and in-depth explanations;

strategic progress;

operational successes.

The content is arranged in thematic sections and reflects the ways in which Europol staff and European law enforcement officers work together to make Europe a safer place.

The full picture

The Review covers all of the crime areas that Europol is responsible for tackling in pursuit of its mission to make Europe safer. Whether crimes with an international dimension form part of the terrorist threat or are among the daily acts of violence, blackmail, corruption and fraud carried out by organised crime groups across the EU, Europol is part of the response—and the Review gives the full picture.

People on the job

To put a human face on some of Europol’s key activities, the Review also features personal profiles of staff members who are contributing to key activities. These profiles tell something about their education and professional background, and get some of their thoughts on the work they do — something of an insider’s view.

The Review also gives an overview of the specialised functions and systems that help Europol maintain and improve the effectiveness of its work. The About Europol page gives a brief overview of these functions and systems, with links to individual pages on each.

The point of it all: operational successes

Europol and its partners are continually taking the fight to crimes in each of the areas in their purview, and to their perpetrators. And each year the Review gives accounts of the successes Europol has racked up, from the largest, to the more modest in scope. Examples include:

the prevention of terrorist attacks, including by returning “foreign fighters”;

the disruption of networks transporting irregular migrants;

rescues of children from sexual abuse;

the shutting down of sites distributing child pornography;

the seizure of drugs, including cocaine, heroin and synthetics;

the arrest of members of organised crime groups, and the dismantling of the groups;

global action against online fraudsters in the airline and other sectors;

disruption of the production of counterfeit euros, and the arrest of the counterfeiters;

putting a freeze on billions of euros in proceeds from criminal activities;

the dismantling of cybercrime operations;

the seizure of forged documents;

the interception of vehicles transporting illicit weapons and explosives;

stopping the sale of fake medicines;

preventing the illegal dumping of waste, and other environmental crimes.

The road ahead

The Review is rounded out each year by a look at the road ahead, both at the level of strategy and as regards the attainment of objectives — at what lies in store for the organisation in terms of challenges and opportunities, as it continues to take the fight to terrorism and the other crimes in its purview.